Clair Brown

Clair Brown

Clair Brown was the first woman to be hired for a tenure track faculty position at the Berkeley Economics Department, since the beginning of World War II.

Clair Brown was the first woman to be hired for a tenure track faculty position at the Berkeley Economics Department, since the beginning of World War II. A native of Florida, Brown completed her Ph.D. in economics with a focus on Labor Economics at the University of Maryland. She joined the Berkeley economics department in January 1974. Brown was not just witness to but was also instrumental in increasing women’s presence in Berkeley’s Economics Department.

A math major at Wellesley, Clair wanted to help make the world a better place. It was the 1960s and change was at the forefront of most college students’ minds. Ultimately, Clair realized there wasn’t much social reform to be done with mathematical proofs. Read more . . .